Wagering game using purchase change

ABSTRACT

A gaming machine is associated with a point of sale device. A party engages in a purchase transaction, such as the purchase of goods or services from a merchant. The transaction is processed via the point of same device. Upon rendering payment, if the party is entitled to monetary change, the amount of the change may be transferred to the gaming machine. That transferred change is accepted as a wager at the gaming machine, which presents a wagering game offering a chance for winnings. Winnings may be paid via the point of sale device, such as in the form of money from a cash register.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/196,895, filed Oct. 20, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to gaming machines, and particularly to awager based gaming machine which utilizes funds from an independenttransaction as the source of a wager.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gaming continues to grow in popularity and is no longer limited totraditional casinos. For example, gaming machines can be found atracetracks, taverns and even grocery and convenience stores. Still,there are various aspects of gaming that some players find inconvenientor unfriendly. Gaming machine manufacturers and operators continue toseek to solve these issues. For example, traditional gaming machinesawarded their payouts in the form of coins. Players had to lug coinsfrom the machine to a casino cage for redemption to currency, or had tolug coins from one machine to another when they desired to switch games.As a result, most gaming machines now offer a player the opportunity tocash out or be awarded winnings via a printed ticket having associatedvalue. Nonetheless, there still remains the need for improvements tomake gaming machine more accessible and player friendly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a gaming machine, gaming system and method ofpresenting and playing a game. In one embodiment, a gaming machine isassociated with a point of sale device. The gaming machine is configuredto receive as a wager the change owed from a purchase processed via thepoint of sale device.

In one embodiment, a gaming machine is linked to a point of sale device.The point of sale device might comprise, for example, a cash register. Apurchase transaction, such as the purchase of goods or services from amerchant, may be processed via the point of sale device. Upon tender ofpayment, it is determined if the customer is entitled to any monetarychange. If so, the customer may be provided the opportunity to wager thechange, or a portion thereof. The amount of the monetary change may betransmitted to the gaming machine, which accepts the change as a wager.The gaming machine may present one or more wagering games havingoutcomes that have associated winnings. In the event of a winning,monetary awards may be paid via the point of sale device. In oneembodiment, the gaming machine transmits winnings information back tothe point of sale device for payment.

In one embodiment, the value of the change that may be wagered is thefractional portion of $1.00 (i.e. $0.01 to $0.99). Various winnings maybe paid, and the size of the winnings and/or probability of winning maychange depending upon the size of the wager.

In accordance with the invention, a customer who engages in a monetarytransaction, such as a purchase transaction with a merchant, is affordedthe opportunity to engage in a wagering game with the change left overfrom that transaction. The invention thus offers a player a convenientopportunity for wagering and the opportunity to wager funds that theplayer may have otherwise had little value for.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention overthe prior art will become apparent from the detailed description whichfollows, when considered with the figures provided herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system of the present invention, the systemcomprising one or more gaming machines and associated devices linked toone or more point of purchase devices, such as a cash register and anassociated server; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough description of the present invention.It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known features have not been described in detailso as not to obscure the invention.

In general, the invention comprises a method of presenting a wager gameusing as the wager therefore the monetary change associated with apurchase transaction. The method also comprises a gaming systemincluding one or more point of sale devices, such as a cash register.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a gaming machine or device 100.Preferably, as detailed below, the gaming machine 100 is a wager-basedgaming machine configured to present one or more games to a player whichoffer the possibility of an award of winnings.

In one embodiment, the gaming machine 100 defines a generally enclosedinterior space for housing one or more components. As illustrated, thegaming machine 100 generally comprises a housing or cabinet 102 forsupporting and/or enclosing various components required for operation ofthe gaming machine. In the embodiment illustrated, the housing 102includes a door located at a front thereof, the door capable of beingmoved between an open position which allows access to the interior, anda closed position in which access to the interior is generallyprevented. The configuration of the gaming machine 100 may vary. In theembodiment illustrated, the gaming machine 100 has an “upright”configuration. However, the gaming machine 100 could have otherconfigurations, shapes or dimensions (such as being of a “slant”-type orother configuration as is well known to those of skill in the art).

The gaming machine 100 preferably includes at least one display device104 configured to display game information. The display device 104 maybe a mechanical, electro-mechanical or electronic display, such as oneor more rotating reels, a video display or the like. When the displaydevice 104 is an electronic video display, it may comprise a cathode raytube (CRT), high resolution flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD),projection LCD, plasma display, field emission display, digitalmicro-mirror display (DMD), digital light processing display (DLP), LCDtouchscreen, a light emitting display (LED) or other suitable displaysnow known or later developed, in a variety of resolutions, sizes andformats (e.g. 4:3, widescreen or the like). The display 104 may becapable of projecting or displaying a wide variety of information,including images, symbols and other indicia or information associatedwith game play, game promotion or other events.

The gaming machine 100 may be configured to present a wide variety ofgames. These may include games in Class III, such as video poker games,slot-type games, and blackjack or other card, dice or various othergames now known or later developed, as well as games in Class II,including central determinant games such a video lottery, bingo andbingo-based games, and other games now known or later developed. Thegames may also be skill based or include one or more skill components.In one embodiment, certain game outcomes may be designated as winningoutcomes. Awards may be provided for winning outcomes, such as monetarypayments (or representations thereof, such as award of credits), prizesor the like. As is well known in the art, the number of winning outcomesmay vary dependent upon the desired payout or winning percentage offeredto the players as compared to wagers that are retained by the gamingestablishment.

The gaming machine 100 may include one or more player input devices 108(such as input buttons, a touch-screen display, joystick, touch-pad orthe like) that may be utilized by the player to facilitate game play. Asdetailed below, the gaming machine 100 is configured to present one ormore wagering games, wherein a wager is provided to the machine in orderto establish entitlement to play the game. In a preferred embodiment, asdetailed below, wager information is transmitted to the gaming machinefrom a point of sale device. However, the gaming machine 100 mightadditionally include a coin accepting mechanism 112 for accepting coinsand/or a currency or bill acceptor 114 for accepting cash or papercurrency. It is also contemplated that other mechanisms may be providedfor accepting a wager, such as credit card, ticket readers or inputdevices whereby a player may have funds paid from a remote account.

In one preferred embodiment, the gaming machine 100 includes amicroprocessor or controller (not shown) for controlling the gamingmachine, including receiving player input and sending output signals forcontrolling the various components of the machine 100 (such asgenerating game information for display by the display 104). Thecontroller may be arranged to send signals for determining winningcombinations and to cause a display to display winning amountinformation. In addition, the controller is preferably arranged todetermine if a round of game play has resulted in a win, and if so, theamount to be paid to the player for that win.

In operation, the player may initiate game play by placing a wager. Asdetailed below, such a wager may be transmitted to the gaming machine100 from an associated point of sale device. In one embodiment, thegaming machine 100 may present a game automatically upon receiving awager, or might do so only after a player provides input, such as to a“start” button or the like.

The gaming machine 100 may include a means for paying a player anywinnings accumulated during game play. As detailed below, in a preferredembodiment, winnings may be paid via a secondary device, such as anassociated point of sale terminal. However, the gaming machine 100 mayitself be configured to dispense winnings or accrued or stored credits.For example, a “cash out” button may be provided for permitting a playerto be paid the winnings or redeeming any credits initially paid into thegaming machine 100. The term “cash out” is used herein to define anevent initiated by the player wherein the player receives a number ofcoins or currency that is equivalent to the value of the player'saccrued credit base. Typically when a player cashes out, the playerreceives either a paper currency voucher or currency in the form of acoin disbursement. If the player decides to receive a coin disbursement,the gaming machine 100 may activate a coin hopper or coin handlingdevice (not shown) which physically counts and delivers the propernumber of coins to the player. The coin handling device is commonlyconfigured to transport coins from a supply source (hopper or bin filledwith coins) to a coin tray 124 or payout receptacle where the playerphysically receives the coins. The player might also elect to cash outby having a ticket or other media dispensed, such as via a printer 114.

The gaming machine 100 may be configured as a stand-alone device or bein communication with one or more external devices at one or more times.For example, the gaming machine 100 may be configured as a server baseddevice and obtain game code or game outcome information from a remoteserver. The gaming machine 100 may also communicate with one or moregaming servers 200. These one or more gaming servers may be configuredto perform accounting, player tracking, bonusing, game generation,promotions or other functions. Though not illustrated in FIG. 1, theremay be multiple gaming machines 100 which are in communication with theone or more gaming servers 200.

In accordance with the invention, a gaming machine is configured toreceive a wager in the form of change resulting from a purchasetransaction. For example, a party may engage in a purchase transactionwith a merchant at a grocery store. The party tenders payment for thepurchase and it is determined if any monetary change is due. Some or allof any monetary change which is due may be utilized as a wager at thegaming machine. In a preferred configuration, the monetary change whichis used as the wager is automatically transferred to the gaming machine.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system of the invention and of anenvironment of a method of the invention. As illustrated therein, thegaming machine 100 is associated with a point of sale device or terminal300. The point of sale device 300 preferably comprises a cash register.However, the point of sale device 300 may comprise other devices.Preferably, the point of sale device 300 is configured to generate ordisplay an amount due for a purchase and facilitate payment of theamount due for the purchase. For example, when the point of sale device300 is a cash register, the cash register may be configured to calculateand display an amount due for the purchase of goods or services.Further, the cash register is configured as a medium for acceptingpayment for the amount due, such as by accepting entry of a paymentamount and currency and/or coins provided to make that payment.

In one embodiment, the point of sale device 300 may be associated with amerchant server 400, such as via one or more communication links 402.The merchant server 400 may be configured to provide information to thepoint of sale device 300, perform accounting functions and the like. Forexample, as is known in the art of merchant sales processing, goodswhich a party wishes to purchase may be identified at the point of saledevice 300. For example, a good may have an identifier such as a barcodeassociated therewith. This information may be routed to the merchantserver 400 which identifies the good and the current price thereof, andtransmits the price back to the point of sale device 300. The point ofsale device 300 may utilize the individual pricing information for thegoods to calculate a total price for a transaction. In addition, thepoint of sale device 300 may transmit information regarding the identityof goods purchased, the amount of a purchase transaction, and paymentinformation to the merchant server 400.

Preferably, the gaming machine 100 is in communication with the point ofsale device 300 and/or the merchant server 400 via one or morecommunication links 404. Preferably, the one or more communication links404 permit the gaming machine 100 to receive information regardingmonetary change from a purchase transaction at the point of sale device300. As detailed below, in that the gaming machine 100 is configured topresent a wagering game to a party who engaged in a purchasetransaction, the gaming machine 100 is preferably located in thevicinity of the point of sale terminal 300. For example, relative to agrocery store, the gaming machine 100 may be located at the check-outisle very close to the point of sale device 300. In this regard, due tospace or other constraints, the gaming machine 100 need not be of theparticular configuration illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the gamingmachine 100 could be built into a check-out counter or the like. Oneadvantage of having the gaming machine 100 close to the check-out isleor a similar high traffic area is that the display thereof can beconfigured to display promotional, advertising or similar informationwhen the gaming machine is not presenting a game.

It will be appreciated that the various communication links describedherein may be wired and/or wireless. Further, the links may utilizevarious communication protocols.

A method of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.1 and 2. In a first step S1, a party engages in a purchase transaction.Such a transaction may occur with a merchant. Such a merchant may offervarious goods or services and might comprise, for example, a conveniencestore operator, a grocer, or the like. As indicated above, as part ofthe transaction, the merchant may calculate an amount owing for thetransaction.

In a step S2 the party tenders payment. As is known in the art, themerchant might accept payment in various forms. For example, themerchant might accept a credit or debit card, money in the form ofcurrency or coins, or other manners of payment. In a step S3 it isdetermined if any change (i.e. a sum of money comprising the differencebetween the amount tendered by the party as payment and the amountowing; i.e. an “overpayment”) is due. In some cases, there may be nochange due. For example, if a party pays by a credit card or tenderedthe exact amount of money owing for the transaction, then no change isdue to the party from the merchant.

However, in the event change is due, then in a step S4 the party may begiven the choice to wager the change. If the party elects to wager thechange that it owed to them, then in a step S5, the change istransferred to the gaming device. In a preferred embodiment, the playeris permitted to wager only the amount of change due less than $1.00,i.e. amounts in hundredths of a dollar (pennies). For example, a partymay purchase a gallon of milk for $3.64 and tender payment in the amountof $5.00. In that event, change is due back to the party in the amountof $1.36. In a preferred embodiment, the merchant returns $1.00 to theparty and permits the party to wager the remaining amount due, $0.36. Ina preferred embodiment, the player is permitted to wager all of thechange due or none of the change due, but not partial amounts due (forexample, if the player is owed change in the amount of $0.68, the playercan't wager $0.50 of that amount).

In a preferred embodiment, if the player elects to place the wager, theamount of change is transferred to or indicated to the gaming machine.Referring to FIG. 1, for example, the operator of the point of saledevice 300 may provide input which causes information regarding theamount of change due to be transferred via the communication link 404from the point of sale device 300 or merchant server 400 to the gamingmachine 100. For example, the point of sale device 300 might send asignal to the gaming machine 100 that $0.64 is being transferred as awager. Of course, in such event, the point of sale device 300 ormerchant server 400 may track that wagering event in order to maintain abalance of amounts owed and paid for the transactions processed thereby.

In a step S6, if a wager is placed using the change which is owed, thenthe gaming machine is configured to present a game. The particular gamewhich is presented may vary, and may or may not include player input.For example, the game might be a video or reel slot-type game, a videopoker game, a keno, bingo or other game.

Preferably, the game has one or more outcomes which are designatedwinning outcomes. An award may be awarded for each winning outcome. Inone embodiment, the awards may be monetary (orequivalents/representations thereof). However, the awards might begoods, services, discounts or the like. In one embodiment, the awardsmight be in increments of $1.00, such as awards of $1.00, $2.00, $3.00,$4.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $40.00, $100.00 and $1000.00. The awardsmight also comprise goods, such as $5.00 worth of gasoline, a creditsuch as a $5.00 store credit, or a discount such as $5.00 off a $15.00purchase.

If the outcome of the game is determined to be a winning outcome, theaward may be paid to the player via the point of sale device, as in astep S7. For example, referring to FIG. 1, if the outcome of the game isa winning outcome having an associated award of $5.00, the gamingmachine may send a signal to the point of sale device 300 of the winningoutcome and the amount owed. The operator of the point of sale device300 may then pay the player $5.00 in currency.

Various additional aspects of the invention will now be described. Asindicated above, in one embodiment a player is permitted to wager theirchange in the fractional amounts less than $1.00 (i.e. amounts of $0.01,from $0.01 to $0.99). In order to facilitate wagers of differingamounts, the gaming machine may be configured with multiple pay tablesor a dynamic pay table. For example, the gaming machine may beconfigured to present a game of video poker where different pay tableshaving one or more of differing winning outcomes and/or differing awardsmay be provided. In another embodiment, the paytable may remain static,providing the same winning outcomes and the same awards, regardless ofthe amount wagered. For example, the gaming machine may be configured topresent a slot-type gaming having 99 paylines. For each wager incrementof $0.01, an additional payline may be activated. In this configuration,as the amount of the wager goes up, the odds of receiving at least onewinning combination increases (in some configurations, the gamingmachine may be configured so that multiple winning combinations can bereceived, such as along differing paylines, whereby multiple awards maybe won).

In a preferred embodiment, the player plays the game at the time of thepurchase, and the game outcome is determined at that time. However, itis also possible for the game outcome to be determined at a later time.For example, the player elect to wager their change upon a keno orlottery type game where the results are determined at predeterminedtimes or intervals. In that instance, the gaming machine might beconfigured to generate and dispense a game ticket or receipt which theplayer can redeem at a later time.

As indicated, when the game outcome is determined at the time of thepurchase transaction, the player might be paid their winnings at thattime. For example, the operator of the point of sale device might paythe player their winnings in paper currency. Alternatively, however, theplayer might be awarded their winnings in the form of a ticket or othermedia which bears the game result or amount won. Such a ticket might beredeemed for money, or be utilized in other transactions, such as beingaccepted at another gaming machine, a vending device or the like. In oneembodiment, the point of sale device of the merchant might be configuredto accept such tickets or media. For example, a player might win $100.00and be vended a ticket. The player might give that ticket to themerchant the next time they are engaged in a transaction, thus using theticket as payment for goods or services. In addition, the winnings mightbe transferred to a secondary system for payment, such as a cashierstation, ticket or voucher issuing station (the winnings could be, forexample, issued in the form of a check or credit that is mailed to theplayer). Depending on the type of award, the award might be transferredto another device. For example, if the award is for free gasoline, theamount of free gas might be credit to a gasoline pump. Awards might alsobe credit to a player's credit card or a rewards card.

It will be appreciated that the various transactions may be tracked viathe various components of the system, such as the merchant server 400 ofthe merchant's processing system and the accounting server 200 of a gamesystem. In this manner, amounts of change that are wagered, amounts won,awards paid and the like may be tracked through the various devices forreconciliation.

In one embodiment, one or more awards may be “progressive” in nature.Such an award may grow over time, such as depending upon the amounts ofwagers placed or the number of games played. The progressive award orjackpot may be won by receiving one or more particular winningcombinations. Such a jackpot may be associated with multiple gamingmachines in order to grow quickly to large values.

In one embodiment, the amounts wagered might be donated to charity. Insuch a configuration, awards might be donated or might comprisepromotional prizes.

As indicated, various prizes might comprise goods, services, discountsor other “non-monetary awards”. Such awards might be awarded forparticular outcomes of the game. In addition, the game might offer abonus spin or bonus game in which non-winning players are offered achance for a consolation prize. Such a prize might comprise one of thenon-monetary awards.

Referring to FIG. 1 and as indicated above, the gaming machine 100 maybe linked to a server 200 which performs player tracking functions. Aplayer's play may be tracked (a player may be required to identifythemselves, such as via a player tracking card, merchant card or thelike). The player may then be awarded bonuses such as free play, asecond chance drawing or lottery chance or the like. Use of such a cardcould eliminate the need to issue a ticket to track wagers and gameparticipation. In particular, such “card” data could be tracked tomonitor the player's activities. Such tracking may be used by themerchant to target specific offers to the player.

In a preferred embodiment, the amount that may be wagered is thefractional portion of a whole value of currency, such as the fractionalportion of $1.00 (such a currency could be US dollars, British Pounds,etc.). However, other amounts might be wagered (for example, largeramounts including multiples of a denomination, such as $1.00 or more),and/or the player might be permitted to supplement their wager (such asby inserting additional coins to the machine in order to increase theamount of their wager, or if paying by a credit card, the player mightadd an amount of a wager to their transaction and increase the amount ofthe charge on their credit card).

The invention has numerous advantages. First, players are afforded aconvenient opportunity to play a wagering game. In particular, playersare afforded the opportunity to play when they are already engaged in atransaction, at the same place and time as that transaction. Thiseliminates the need for the player to travel to another location to playa wagering game. Moreover, inconveniences associated with placing awager are entirely eliminated. Currently a player locates a gamingmachine and then must access funds to place a wager, such as by locatingchange. In accordance with the invention, a player can place a wager aspart of another transaction. Because the party was already engaged inthe purchase transaction, the transfer of the change to the machine as awager thus adds no additional steps or work to the party in order toplay the game.

The invention also adds instantaneous excitement to a purchase event.For example, a party may not be particularly excited about running tothe store to purchase milk late in the evening. However, to parties thatenjoy gaming, the opportunity to play a game as part of that purchaseevent greatly enhances the purchasing event. For merchants, this mayalso increase sales. In particular, parties that often made one or twotrips for items might make additional trips in order to gain additionalchanges to wager their change. Also, parties are enticed to pay cash,since they can then wager their change. This is beneficial to a merchant(since credit card processors generally charge merchants a processingfee on transactions paid for by credit cards). In addition, the gameoffers a player the opportunity for game play for a very low wageramount, simply comprising the loose change that the player would havereceived back from their purchase. In this manner, the player uses fundsthat they likely did not value very much, and yet are permitted toengage in an exciting activity for the chance at much larger winnings.

It will be understood that the above described arrangements of apparatusand the method there from are merely illustrative of applications of theprinciples of this invention and many other embodiments andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the claims.

1. A gaming system comprising: a point of sale device configured toprocess payment between a purchaser and a merchant; a wagering gamingdevice, said gaming device configured to present at least one wageringgame, said game having one or more outcomes which are designated aswinning outcomes having associated awards; and at least onecommunication link via which information regarding change owed from themerchant to the purchaser from payment rendered at said point of saledevice is transmitted to said wagering gaming device for use as a wagerat same wagering gaming device.
 2. The gaming system of claim 1 whereinsaid point of said device comprises a cash register.
 3. The gamingsystem of claim 1 wherein said change owed is the fractional portion of$1.00 in currency.
 4. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein said wageringgaming device is configured to transmit monetary award information tosaid point of sale device via said at least one communication link forpayment to said purchaser in the event said at least one wagering gameresults in a winning outcome.
 5. The gaming system of claim 1 furthercomprising at least one gaming server, said server configured to performone or more of player tracking, accounting, bonusing and promotionfunctions.
 6. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein said wagering gamingdevice is configured to present a game selected from the groupconsisting of: video poker, lottery, keno, bingo, mechanical slots orvideo slots.
 7. The gaming system of claim 1 further comprising at leastone merchant server, said point of sale device coupled to said at leastone merchant server and wherein said at least one communication link isbetween said wagering gaming device and said at least one merchantserver.
 8. A method of presenting a wagering game comprising the stepsof: entering into a purchase transaction with a customer; acceptingtender of payment from said customer via a point of sale terminal;transmitting information regarding an amount of change due said customerfrom said point of sale terminal to a gaming device; presenting at leastone game utilizing said change due as a wager at said gaming device; anddetermining an outcome of said at least one game and determining anyamounts won.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said amount of change dueis the fractional portion of $1.00 in currency.
 10. The method of claim8 further comprising the step of transmitting award information fromsaid gaming device back to said point of sale terminal for issuance ofsaid award to said customer.
 11. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising the step of determining an amount of change due saidcustomer, paying said customer amounts due in whole values of $1.00 andtransmitting information regarding amounts due in fractional portions of$1.00 to said gaming device.
 12. The method of claim 8 wherein one ormore outcomes of said game are designated winning outcomes and furthercomprising the step of awarding winnings if said outcome is determinedto be a winning outcome.
 13. The method of claim 8 wherein said point ofsale terminal comprises a cash-register.
 14. The method of claim 8wherein said gaming machine comprises a slot machine configured topresent a slot game.